Manager Selection Panel Formed

HEBRON — The board of selectmen has begun searching for a new town manager with the formation of a selection committee that has at least one resident feeling she was left out of the loop.

The committee, chosen by the selectmen, will be responsible for finding a successor to Robert E. Lee, who accepted the town manager's job in Plainville this week. Lee was Hebron's first and only town manager, spending 14 years in the position.

The five-person committee includes two selectmen, a finance board member and two citizens at large. The panelists are Victoria Avelis, chairwoman of the board of selectmen; Selectwoman Karen Strid; board of finance Chairman Brendan Shea; John Hibbard; and Kevin Connors.

Hibbard has spent about 30 years in town government, including time on the board of selectmen and board of finance. He was on the original search committee for the town manager's position.

Connors is a former chairman of the board of selectmen and is now Hebron's probate judge and town moderator.

Resident Sabrina Lutz said Friday that she had no problem with the choice of Hibbard and Connors as residents at large, but questioned the other appointments and the lack of diverse backgrounds and experiences typically included in searches for school principals and district superintendents.

``It's unfortunate that they didn't involve the community,'' she said, adding that more than five people should have been selected for the committee. ``After all, it's our town.''

Catherine Marx, vice chairwoman of the Hebron Board of Selectmen, said Friday that board members took residents' concerns about representation into consideration, but that ultimately the burden lies with the board of selectmen.

``If you look at the charter, it's clearly the board of selectmen's responsibility,'' she said.

Marx encouraged residents to contact the committee about what they want in a town manager.

The committee is expected to begin to discuss candidates after the application deadline passes at the end of July.

Marx said the position is being advertised in a town managers' trade publication. Requirements include five to eight years' experience in town government with a master's degree in public or business administration, she said. The salary range is $74,000 to $86,000, Marx said.

The committee is expected to make its recommendations to the board of selectmen by the end of August, with a tentative starting date of late September.

In the meantime, Marx said, Lee will work full time in Hebron until the end of this month and part time in July. He begins in Plainville the first week of August.

Marx said that a decision on how to proceed after Lee leaves and before his successor starts has not been made. She said the board has not ruled out hiring an interim town manager.